Rory McIlroy reacts to a drive during the final round of the 2023 BMW Championship. | Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
McIlroy tweaked his back this week, but he still plans on teeing it up at the Tour Championship this week in Atlanta.
ATLANTA — Rory McIlroy will battle through the Tour Championship with a back injury, according to the Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis.
Lewis noted that it is a “muscular issue” for McIlroy, who injured his back at home in Jupiter, Florida earlier this week.
Earlier this week @McIlroyRory injured his lower back. It’s a muscular issue. This morning he arrived at East Lake, received treatment, and hit 20 ball which was the first time he hit balls this week. He will tee it up today for @TOURChamp but may have discomfort.
— Todd Lewis (@ToddLewisGC) August 24, 2023
McIlroy went home after last week’s BMW Championship in Chicago, something he noted during his Wednesday pre-tournament press conference.
The Northern Irishman hit 20 balls on the range Thursday, per Lewis, while many notable players spent much more time warming up for their rounds in the practice area.
It was the first time all week that McIlroy hit practice balls. He appeared to grimace a few times after his swings as well.
But he did practice on the putting green Tuesday at East Lake.
Perhaps McIlroy is taking it easy ahead of round one, hoping the discomfort does not force a withdrawal from the Tour Championship.
Nevertheless, he is the defending champion and will give it a go.
But he also knows that he cannot overdo it in the heat and humidity that is stifling Georgia this week.
Meanwhile, Tommy Fleetwood spent more than 20 minutes at the range while Tony Finau worked on hitting draws with his driver. Both players hit well more than 20 balls for their respective warmups. Matthew Fitzpatrick also spent ample time warming up, so it is interesting to see McIlroy hit less than two dozen golf balls.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
